Civil Society and the Open Working Group URGENT ACTION
Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 7:59PM The Open Working Group (OWG), in accordance with the outcome document of the Rio + 20 Conference, Future We Want, paragraph 248 calls for the “full involvement of relevant stakeholders and expertise from civil society, the scientific community and the United Nations system in its work to provide a diversity of perspectives and experience.”
As has been mentioned in previous posting on the NGOs Beyond 2014 website, it is important that civil society organizations (CSOs) urge that the modalities be set up for their inclusion in the process. As the first meeting of the OWG has been confirmed for 14-15 March, if your country is a member of the OWG (see attached list), you are urged to write to your UN Permanent Representative (Ambassador) at the UN in New York, citing the relevant paragraph from the Future We Want, asking that he/she work to ensure the inclusion of civil society in the process. (Addresses for the UN Missions in New York can be found in the ‘Blue Book’)
The members of the Open Working Group in Alphabetical Order are:
- Algeria (1)
- Argentina (20)
- Australia (21)
- Bahamas (16)
- Bangladesh (13)
- Barbados (16)
- Belarus (27)
- Benin (3)
- Bhutan (9)
- Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (20)
- Brazil (19)
- Bulgaria (28)
- Canada (22)
- China (11)
- Colombia (15)
- Congo (6)
- Croatia (28)
- Cyprus (12)
- Denmark (23)
- Ecuador (20)
- Egypt (1)
- France (24)
- Germany (24)
- Ghana (2)
- Guatemala (15)
- Guyana (17)
- Haiti (17)
- Hungary (26)
- India (10)
- Indonesia (11)
- Iran (Islamic Republic of) (14)
- Ireland (23)
- Israel (22)
- Italy (25)
- Japan (14)
- Kazakhstan (11)
- Kenya (4)
- Mexico (18)
- Montenegro (29)
- Morocco (1)
- Nauru (8)
- Nepal (14)
- Netherlands (21)
- Nicaragua (19)
- Norway (23)
- Pakistan (10)
- Palau (8)
- Papua New Guinea (8)
- Peru (18)
- Poland (30)
- Republic of Korea (13)
- Romania (30)
- Saudi Arabia (13)
- Serbia (27)
- Singapore (12)
- Slovenia (29)
- Spain (25)
- Sri Lanka (10)
- Switzerland (24)
- Thailand (9)
- Trinidad and Tobago (17)
- Tunisia (1)
- Turkey (25)
- United Arab Emirates (12)
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (21)
- United Republic of Tanzania (5)
- United States of America (22)
- Viet Nam (9)
- + country nominated by Africa Group (7)
NOTE: The number of their position on the group is in brackets after the name of the country. Please note with which countries they are sharing a place on the group.